Moses realized the short, typically wordless animated films shown before most Disney/Pixar movies are perfect tools to use with upper-grade students working on “inferencing skills, predicting, asking questions and drawing conclusions.” She points readers toward a Pinterest page where she’s curated a variety of the short features, many of which “are also great for social skills of identifying facial expression, body language and humor,” she says.

In the same post, Moses also writes about how she’s used Norman Rockwell paintings (she lives in Arlington, Vermont, home for some time to the iconic artist) for work with visualization programs. Known for its detail and vivid imagery, Rockwell’s artwork can be used as a tool for comprehension, inferencing, critical thinking and expression—all while adding some art history into the mix. Moses maintains a Pinterest board full of Rockwell’s work, too, for easy access.

Even when the unexpectedness of his job causes him to feel “frazzled,” Raj says making a concerted effort to capture the small things helps put things in perspective.

“Remember that one time when that one student of yours laughed so hard at one of your silly jokes and you thought his head was about to pop off?” he writes. “That right there—that was TOTALLY a magical, tiny detail!”

To keep track, Raj suggests jotting a reminder of special moments on scraps of paper, collecting each day’s pile in a jar—maybe a reminder of the look in a second-grader’s eyes when he realized he had earned enough stickers for a prize, the time a student said she was genuinely excited to come to speech that day, or even when a sixth-grader complimented your new haircut.

“Be in the moment and let those magical and tiny details sink into your heart,” he adds, “because those moments are the moments that bring us SLPs the most joy.”

Go Ahead, Criticize Me

Receiving criticism, even when it’s constructive and well-intended, is hard. But learning how to accept it, use it and move on is an important skill to master, especially in the workplace, writes Dean Trout on her SLPMomma blog.

Trout recounts her own struggles to take criticism gracefully, offering an example: An acquaintance kindly wrote to let Trout know her online store needed some revamping. Trout took the suggestions and resources, which the person had thoughtfully offered alongside the initial criticism, and used them to create a more user-friendly, visually appealing Web store.

Although Trout acknowledges it can be embarrassing and daunting to know you aren’t perfect, feedback is too valuable to ignore. She uses four steps—recognize the problem, understand it, accept it and take steps to overcome it—to face the criticism head on.

“Don’t be afraid to approach your friends and co-workers with constructive criticism, and do it with genuine kindness,” she writes. “Also, don’t take constructive criticism the wrong way ... Accept it as the wonderful help that it is!”

Seek out medical volunteering programs, such as the Atlantis Project, to learn about a foreign health care system (and to gain perspective on the U.S. system).

Dig to find more local, program-specific opportunities, such as the Spain-based T-oigo’s Allies in English, in which students enrolled in local universities pair up with a child with hearing loss and help him or her learn English.

Shadow a bilingual clinician (and add to observation hours) by tracking down an ASHA-certified audiologist or SLP, many working in international schools.

By the end of the semester, students will come away with a new cultural outlook and new skills to help them in the rest of their academic and professional journey.